Splendor in the grass

After yesterday's discussion of the "Great Outdoors", today, word comes of a new hot-ticket item for homeowners who apparently just don't know what to do with their money.

For the most part, California homeowners will probably not be able to relate very well to the peer pressure that can result when the name John Deere is uttered. Take a look next time you make an unplanned visit to a truck stop when driving from one populated area to another - John Deere baseball caps and other accessories command hefty prices, just like their riding mowers.

The company is a symbol of status and prestige that most SoCal homeowners could care less about, given their proclivity to just hand Jose and his crew $120 a month to take care of the lawn.

All this brings us to the latest backyard consumer craze - "Zero-Turn Mowers". Again, all the details are right there in a WSJ story($):

Three weeks ago, Rod Reams ditched his clunky old lawn mower. His new ride: a ZTR, or zero-turning-radius mower, which can spin around in place and cut a four-foot swath of grass at up to eight miles an hour. Mr. Reams, of Batavia, Ill., likes the way his John Deere Z445 cuts cleanly and trims his chore time to two hours from four.

He likes something else, too: "One of my neighbors uses a smaller lawn tractor, and he looks at mine with admiration," Mr. Reams says.

The zero-turning-radius riding mower is becoming the latest status symbol on suburban blocks. Shipments rose 7% last year -- even as shipments of outdoor power equipment in general fell 6.5%, according to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, a trade group.

Here are a couple photos and, if you're really interested, you can check out the video.

You get a free John Deere baseball cap with the purchase of any riding mower over $2,000 - don't forget to ask for it.